A brutal elegy for our changing times as well as a tour-de-force of visual artistry, Tekkon Kinkreet is a deeply resonant story with a heart. The title Tekkonkinkreet is a play on the Japanese words for 'concrete,' 'iron,' and 'muscle,' and it suggests the warring images of steel and concrete cities amassing against the powers of the imagination. Until now, at least in imports abroad, anime style has almost entirely been characterized by wide-eyed heroes, big robots, and uninspired plotting. Tekkon Kinkreet jettisons these stereotypes in favor of a more realistic, European ethos, successfully incorporating engaging child characters and a complex action plot into a poetic, engaging story.
 
"...thoroughly mind-blowing, and the film's visual sensibility is utterly distinctive."  Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
"As intriguing and unusual as its title...bursts with enough ideas for three movies."  Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
 


Editor's Note

This animated saga is based on the serial manga "Black and White" by Taiyo Matsumoto. In it, two gangs of orphans compete for territory on the mean streets of Treasure Town.